Unit 6 Peasants and Farmers Exercise Solutions

Questions : Solutions of Questions on Page Number : 137

Explain briefly what the open field system meant to rural people
in eighteenth-century England. Look at the system from the point
of view of:

A rich farmer

A labourer

A peasant woman

Answer :

(a) A rich farmer:

As the prices of wool increased, rich farmers wanted to increase
its production. Therefore, they began to privatise the
best parts of the common land and open fields for themselves.
This was done to ensure that their sheep would get good fodder.
They also began to drive out poorer farmers, disallowing them
from using common land for grazing.

(b) A labourer:

For the poor labourers, the common lands were essential
for survival. They used to live with landowners, doing a
number of odd jobs for them in return for board and lodging and a
small pay. However, when the open field system began to
disappear, labourers were paid wages and employed only at harvest
time. This left them at the mercy of rich landowners and
farmers.

(c) A peasant woman:

For peasant women, the open field system was a good way of
community living wherein everything was shared between the rich
and the poor. They would use the common lands for grazing
their cattle, gathering fruits and collecting firewood.
However, all these activities were negatively affected because of
the disappearance of open fields.

The factors that led to the enclosures in England were primarily
profit-based. When wool prices rose in the sixteenth century,
rich farmers began to enclose the best pastures of common lands
for their own cattle. Later, in the mid-eighteenth century, the
British Parliament passed 4000 Acts legalising these enclosures
which had earlier been an individual, and not state, enterprise.
Enclosures came into being to enhance grain production since
England's
population was booming. Also, industrialisation and war needs
made foodgrain prices soar, making it necessary to take steps to
increase its production. They were also important for long-term
investments on land and to plan crop rotations for maintaining
soil fertility.

India and the Contemporary World - Social Science : CBSE NCERT Exercise Solutions for Class 9th for Peasants and Farmers will be available online in PDF book form soon. The solutions are absolutely Free. Soon you will be able to download the solutions.